You Are Fatally Invited by Ande Pliego

genre: contemporary mystery

You are only given an invitation to this particular writer’s retreat if you’re already a famous writer. For the authors who make their way to an island along coastal Maine, a chance to workshop and learn from the elusive and brilliant horror writer J. R. Alastor is like a dream come true. There are secrets everywhere, of course. It seems like everyone is connected but we don’t know how and the past is bubbling up and triggering both the staff of the retreat and the attendees. When the first gruesome murder occurs, the tropes begin, in a very meta sort of way, as the text of J.R.'s Guide to Writing is interspersed in the narration of the plot. Who will be next and how will it end and who IS J.R. anyway?

I keep being surprised by my own enjoyment of mysteries. Maybe it’s time to just admit I like them? There were a lot of characters here to keep straight, as we jump from POV to POV throughout the story. But I wanted to know who stole the one girl’s manuscript and what old confessional was for and who in the heck is the serial killer? It wasn’t a crazy page turner but I never wanted to give up on it. I was entertained. I can’t think of another word for it. It’s pretty bloody, as many people die, but it wasn’t anything I wasn’t expecting when I decided to try it. I liked the bookish theme of the whole thing and so 3.5 stars for that.